Did your child suffer a birth injury caused by a prolonged and difficult delivery or delayed cesarean section? If your child suffered a preventable birth injury due to a doctor’s negligence or […]
A doctor is not able to guarantee a perfect pregnancy, nor can nature. However, a doctor does have an obligation to monitor the health of the child along with the expectant mother. Legally, the doctor and/or nurses are tasked with observing fetal monitoring strips for signs of fetal distress (such as a decreased heart beat), and acting quickly to mitigate any preventable harm to the mother and child. Toward the latter stages of pregnancy, the risk of fetal distress significantly increases, and doctors are acutely aware of this.
The following are some of the most-common causes of fetal distress.
Among the most important monitoring tools that your doctor will introduce to you will be the fetal heart rate monitor and the ultrasound system. Penn State Hershey states that the fetal heart rate monitoring system has the ability to “monitor the baby’s heartbeat in the uterus, including during labor.” This type of testing can be done internally or externally and can help to prevent birth injury.
The test is necessary so that a doctor can evaluate the fetal heart rate variability in between beats and how they compare to the uterine contractions. It can also be done to measure the frequency and the power of these uterine contractions. All of this information is important in determining how the baby is coping with the birth process. If the unborn child is not coping well then emergency treatment will be required.
The doctor and mother will work together to watch for signs of increased blood pressure, symptoms of diabetes or any other infection, because all of these will increase the risk of fetal distress occurring. A doctor is not required to be perfect, but she must provide a reasonable degree of care that has been set by the medical industry.
Fetal distress is certainly nothing to take lightly. Even short occurrences of fetal distress can cause problems with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and shoulder dystocia. The most damaging occurrences can result in brain damage.
The American Family Physician reviews some of these damaging conditions:
These are all problems that will affect you and your child for an entire lifetime. The Rasansky Law Firm wants to stress the fact that these problems can be minimized or avoided if a doctor takes appropriate action such as suggested by The Mayo Clinic. A doctor will usually recommend a C-section if severe fetal distress is likely to affect the child.
If the doctor fails to live up to the precedent his own industry has set, then this is a case of medical malpractice. If your baby dies or is born with a birth injury because of medical malpractice, you may be entitled to damages. The best thing to do is to talk to qualified attorney who can help you build a case. Contact us today and talk to our birth injury attorneys to find out about your legal right.
Note: The information that was utilized in this post was gathered from the use of secondary sources. This information used has not been confirmed or independently verified. If you locate any information that is not correct, please contact our firm as soon as possible so that we can make the appropriate corrections. If you find any information that is false, we will remove or correct the post immediately after it is brought to our attention.
Disclaimer: As a valued member of the Dallas community, Rasansky Law Firm’s goal is to improve the safety of all residents in the great state of Texas. These posts should not be viewed as a solicitation for business and the information included herein should not be taken as medical or legal advice. The photos used in this post are not representative of the actual crash scene.
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